Foreign firms line up for high-speed rail

Ever since President Barack Obama gave $1.25 billion to Florida to build high-speed rail from Orlando to Tampa, Central Florida has become ground zero for a United Nations of contractors lining up for a slice of the project.

French, Korean, Chinese and German train makers and others are busy courting partner companies big and small, local and multi-national, to do everything from engineering and construction to legal and marketing work.

One person who has taken part in discussions for a local company likened the talks to "speed-dating," as various coalitions and teams begin to form in anticipation of the bid process beginning in October.

There's a lot of money at stake, with the feds and the state likely to give another combined $1 billion or so toward the rail line, said Nazih Haddad, who oversees rail for the state Department of Transportation, which will select the winning team by the end of 2011.

"We're looking for first the best deal and clearly to put people in Florida to work," Haddad said. "We want to make sure we have folks from the state, from the local corridor."

Here are some companies to watch:

Bombardier Inc. Based in Montreal, Canada, this company is no stranger to Florida. Its trains are best known here as the monorail system at Walt Disney World. And it was twice given the nod as the preferred contractor during the state's false starts on a high-speed system in 1996 and 2003. Back then Bombardier paired with Texas-based construction company Fluor, Virgin Trains and Orlando-based Mears Transportation. "We hope that we have an advantage" because of the company's three manufacturing plants in the U.S., said spokeswoman Maryanne Roberts.

Hyundai Rotem. This Korean company was part of the team of contractors known as Global Rail Consortium that came in second place during the state's earlier attempts at rail. It appears to be interested in Florida once again — a representative from the company spoke and hosted an exhibit at an Orlando conference of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association in March.

U.S.- Japan High-Speed Rail. This company is based in Washington, D.C., and is a partner of Central Japan Railways, which boasts the busiest high-speed system in the world with 149 million passengers a year between Tokyo and Osaka. Executive Director Ian Rainey said it's been meeting "informally and discreetly" with local companies. "I would anticipate what the team eventually looks like is going to involve a very substantial number of Florida-based companies," he said.

Talgo. With a stronghold on rail in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, this Spanish company appears interested in Florida. Based in Madrid, it recently announced it would build a manufacturing plant in Milwaukee.

Alstom Transport. This French company provides trains for Europe's high-speed Eurostar system as well as for Amtrak's Acela Express, which runs from Boston to Washington, D.C. "We're very interested in the Florida market," said spokesman Tim Brown. "We've tried to signal that every step of the way."

Siemens Mobility. The German company has publicly expressed interest in the project and runs trains in Germany, Spain, China and Russia. It recently announced it would expand its train manufacturing site in Sacramento, Calif.

China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp. One observer called it the "sleeping giant" of this competition because it is the only company on this list that did not attend the March conference, but is getting "revved up." China announced a partnership last year with General Electric to manufacture high-speed trains in the U.S.